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Goyal ‘forced’ NABARD to issue statement to hide demonetisation scam: Congress (Lead)
New Delhi, June 23 (IANS) The Congress on Saturday alleged that Finance Minister Piyush Goyal had “forced” NABARD to issue a statement “to hide the demonetisation scam by BJP President Amit Shah” and demanded that audit reports, including those of NABARD, be made public.
Accusing the BJP government of giving “patronage to scamsters”, the Congress also said that another bank fraud worth Rs 2,000 crore, by the D.S. Kulkarni (DSK) group of companies, had come to the fore in Maharashtra.
“Piyush Goyal forced NABARD to issue a press statement, which far from addressing the core issue of the allegation looked like a BJP statement embedded on NABARD’s website since it only sought to defend Amit Shah,” Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said at a press conference here.
He alleged that NABARD deliberately omitted its own RTI findings which reflected that a whopping Rs 3,118.51 crore worth of old notes were deposited within the first five days of demonetisaton in 11 Gujarat Co-operative Banks “closely associated” with BJP leaders.
“District Co-operative banks in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ruled states and its allies ruled states had received a massive 64.18 per cent i.e Rs 22,270.80 crore of the entire amount deposited in these banks in just five days,” Khera said.
The Congress leader’s remarks came a day after the National Bank for Agriculture & Rural Development (NABARD) attributed the highest deposits at ADCB to the latter’s massive size and performance, saying it had conducted 100 per cent verification which revealed that the bank had complied with all the KYC guidelines of the RBI while accepting the demonetised notes.
IANS had done a story on Thursday based on a RTI reply which said that a bank with Amit Shah as a director collected the highest amount of banned notes among DCCBs (District Cooperative Central Banks).
Khera said: “Goyal tweeted a piece of ‘Yellow Journalism’ directly taken out of the Sangh eco-system and tried extremely hard to somehow clutch at straws by holding on to such childish gibberish – a hallmark of RSS-BJP intellectual universe.”
He said “it would have been pertinent for the Modi government to answer our simple questions and order a thorough investigation in the spike of demonetised note deposits in the district co-operative banks.”
He called on Goyal to “shed this holier-than-thou attitude and as temporary Finance Minister, order an impartial enquiry into the entire gamut of transactions during Modi-made disaster of demonetisation, which is now turning out to be the biggest scam of the century”.
Khera also demanded that NABARD “make public the audit report of the cooperative banks who received large amount of deposits during first five days of demonetisation”.
Khera also said that RTI activists had exposed that the DSK Group had borrowed money, amounting to Rs 5,400 crore, from several financial institutions, and failed to return it.
“Kulkarni had connections to RSS and BJP. This is 12th bank loot scam under the BJP government,” he said.
He also said that the DSK group duped around 8,000 homebuyers and investors in fixed deposits, majority of whom are senior citizens.
–IANS
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Dr. Abhishek Verma Dedicates a Shelter in Memory of His Mother, Veena Verma, at KGMU; Inaugurated by Daughter Nicolle Verma
World-renowned business tycoon Dr. Abhishek Verma has supported Foodman Vishal Singh’s Hunger-Free World mission. In memory of his mother, Late Veena Verma, who was a 3 term Rajya Sabha MP.
Dr. Verma dedicated a state-of-the-art free permanent shelter for the attendants of patients at KGMU Medical University, Lucknow, under the aegis of Vijay Shree Foundation. His daughter, Nicolle Verma, inaugurated the shelter.
During the event, Foodman Vishal Singh honored Nicolle Verma by presenting her with a memento. Mrs. Nidhi Sharma and Avantika Yadav, associated with the organization, welcomed her with garlands. Following this, Nicolle Verma distributed essential items to the attendants and also handed out fruits. She became emotional remembering her grandmother on her birth anniversary.
On this occasion, she also inaugurated the “Veena Verma Sevalaya” in memory of her grandmother, Veena Verma, to serve the attendants. She expressed, “I feel proud that my family is engaged in nation-building as well as social service. Today, in collaboration with Vijay Shree Foundation founder Foodman Vishal Singh Ji, I feel immensely proud to dedicate this shelter for the poor, helpless, and needy attendants of patients battling serious illnesses like cancer. I am honored to be associated with the Hunger-Free World Mission for humanity.”
Inspired by the continuous humanitarian service provided by Vijay Shree Foundation over the past 17 years, Nicolle Verma donated 10 lakh rupees to support the cause. The purpose of this donation is to ensure that services continue for the needy attendants of patients suffering from severe illnesses in hospitals, as facilitated by Foodman Vishal Singh.
It is noteworthy that Dr. Abhishek Verma’s family has a legacy of public and philanthropic service. They are helping millions to carry forward the values and service work of their parents. On the occasion of his mother’s birth anniversary, Dr. Abhishek Verma dedicated this state-of-the-art permanent shelter at Lucknow Medical College to serve the attendants of patients through the Vijay Shree Foundation.
Supporting Foodman Vishal Singh’s Hunger-Free World mission, Dr. Abhishek Verma assured that he would continually support keeping this flame of humanity alive. He also promised to assist in providing medicines to the helpless patients.
Continuing her grandmother’s legacy of service, Nicolle Verma personally served food to the needy patients and attendants. She said, “It is our good fortune to have received the joy of doing this noble work today through Foodman Vishal Singh. I have taken another step forward in carrying my family’s values and cooperation by joining hands with the Vijay Shree Foundation. My father taught me to serve and help the needy, and I feel happy when I bring a smile to someone’s face.”
On the birth anniversary of the late Veena Verma, the event organizer, Vijay Shree Foundation founder Foodman Vishal Singh, said, “We feel proud and happy that Dr. Abhishek Verma, a globally renowned business tycoon, has extended his support to uplift our country from the hunger index. Today, on his mother’s birth anniversary, he inaugurated a state-of-the-art permanent shelter at Lucknow Medical College, which will always be helpful for the needy attendants of patients. It is a pleasure for me and the organization to receive the affection of Mr. Verma.”
The event was attended by General Manager Verma Family Office Hemant Garg, Sonu Rajput, and the organization’s volunteers, including Sandeep Singh, Parmeshwar Ji, Prashant Rao Gautam, Balram Singh, Ramesh Chaudhary, Suman, Jeetu, Anil, Suraj, Vinay, Manish Bhadauria, Manas Mehrotra, Vivek, Apurv, Happy, and others.